Language, truth, and religious belief : studies in twentieth-century theory and method in religion /
edited by Nancy K. Frankenberry, Hans H. Penner.
- xiii, 533 p. ; 23 cm.
- American Academy of Religion / Texts and translations series ; no. 19 .
- Texts and translations series (American Academy of Religion) ; no. 19. .
Includes bibliographical references.
pt. 1. The legacy of logical positivism for the study of religion. A.J. Ayer and the challenge to religious belief. Language, truth and logic / A.J. Ayer. -- Are religious statements meaningful? / E.D. Klemke. -- Religious symbols and two levels of truth. The reality of God / Paul Tillich. -- Professor Tillich's confusions / Paul Edwards. -- pt. 2. From logical positivism to functionalism. Religion is what religion does. Religion: problems of definition and explanation / Melford Spiro. -- Religion as ideology. Religion as a cultural system / Clifford Geertz. -- Geertz's longlasting moods, motivations and metaphysical conceptions / Nancy K. Frankenberry and Hans H. Penner. -- A critique of functionalism. What's wrong with functional explanations / Hans H. Penner. -- pt. 3. From functionalism to relativism. The ruse of relativism. On the very idea of a conceptual scheme / Donald Davidson. -- The myth of the subjective / Donald Davidson. -- Forms of life and religious relativism. Religious belief / Ludwig Wittgenstein. The groundlessness of belief / Norman Malcolm. -- What is real is what is given in a language. Understanding a primitive society / Peter Winch. -- Professor Winch on safari / Robin Horton. -- pt. 4. New theories for the study of religion. Holism, semantics and the new pragmatism. Pragmatism, Davidson, and truth / Richard Rorty. -- In what sense are religions conceptual frameworks? / Terry Godlove. -- Why does semantics matter? / Hans H. Penner. -- Pragmatism, truth, and disenchantment of subjectivity / Nancy K. Frankenberry.